The only thing people will think of when looking back at the 2013 Vans U.S. Open of Surfing will be the images posted all over the web and on newscasts across the world of some jerk throwing a stop sign through the Easy Rider window shop, the girl fight that broke out on Main Street, the mobs trying to tip over city cars and the blue port-o-podies that were knocked on their sides.

The event for years has been at a tipping point, and long-timers who still have images of the 1986 riots have been wary of the increased number of beachgoers who have showed up the past few years for the mega event, which has gone from about 500,000 attendees to an estimated 1 million in the past five years.

I have to say, 99 percent of my time is focused on the action in the water each year at the U.S. Open. But when I go out to the festival area to do a story, or to leave after the surf action is wrapped up, I always feel a little dirty.

Not to sound like a prude, but what's with the kids these days? Seriously -- writing sexual solicits on your body for attention? Some of these kids can't be older than 13!

But besides the madness that happened downtown, and the obscenities of a few youngsters on the sand, it was otherwise an exciting, fun event, especially in the water.

I want to take a moment to reflect on the surf contest, since the only other media coverage we're going to see from this year's event will focus on the violence.

The final day still had two Orange County hopefuls, and the buzz surrounding Santa Ana's Courtney Conlogue and San Clemente's Kolohe Andino grew through the day.

Andino was surfing on point the entire event. Once known for his killer aerial attacks, Andino showed he's added power surfing to his bag of tricks and impressed judges with his big turns that sprayed buckets of water behind him. It was when he took out last year's champ Julian Wilson that he became a serious contender for the title.

Conlogue was also surfing her strongest, demolishing Tyler Wright, who came into the U.S. Open ranked No. 1 in the world.

Unfortunately in the final, Conlogue couldn't find the waves she needed against Hawaii's Carissa Moore. But wow, did she put up a fight, taking three waves back-to-back in the final minutes of the heat, with the entire crowd on the sand holding their breath to wait for scores to drop. There was a collective groan of disappointment when Conlogue's score came up short.

Andino had the same result, coming in second spot against a hungry, young Brazilian Alejo Muniz. The ocean went virtually flat for about 13 minutes, and you could feel Andino's frustration as the ocean didn't allow for him to get any waves.

But it was hard to be disappointed in Muniz' win, after he explained that it was the four-year anniversary of his grandfather's death. You can see in his eyes he felt his presence with him in the water, and he kissed his hands and put them to the air to thank the heavens for his win. It was a touching moment, and you couldn't help but feel happy for the kid.

It's moments like these that makes the U.S. Open special. Then, there's other great events like the Surfing Walk of Fame, the Surfers' Hall of Fame and OC Surfer of the Year awards.

There was the After the Open fundraiser party down the street at the Hilton, where Tom Curren was performing.

Many people think it's time the event re-focuses its energy toward the sport that has made the event famous in the first place: Surfing.

Unfortunately, because it's called the "U.S. Open of Surfing," the sport will be tagged with this ugly stain, with some news agencies already wrongly stating that it was surfers who started the riot. In reality, many of the hard-core surfer fans who showed up to watch the contest action left after the last heat ended at 2 p.m.

Plenty of surfers out there shared that sentiment. Here are a few thoughts from surfers on Facebook:

"Have we completely lost the spirit of surfing, the aloha, if you will. Respect for ocean, for life, for each other.... we are connected. I'm ashamed that 'surfers' will get associated with these acts of anarchy, committed by adolescent males just looking for an excuse to get rowdy -- Casey Caston.

"It's marketed as a week to come and get wasted and party. Just happens to be a surfing competition on at the same time. Let's reverse that and make it more attractive for SURFING! Maybe then I would go and watch live rather than at home on the webcast" - Simon Short.

"The event is called "US Open of Surfing". Remove all the other nonsense and get back to a "Surfing Event" - Seth Matson.

Kolohe Andino in the men's finals of the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif, on Sunday, July 28, 2013. He lost to Alejo Muniz of Brazil. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alejo Muniz of Brazil points skyward as he celebrates his win in the men's finals of the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif, on Sunday, July 28, 2013. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Courtney Conlogue of Santa Ana makes a large spray while carving into a small wave on Sunday during the Women's final of the Vans US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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